Hi all...not sure if this is EXACTLY on topic...but for those of you with rice cookers and looking for other things to do with them besides steamed rice...or who are having trouble with cooking red rice, black rice, etc. in them...I picked up a very nice cookbook a few months ago called "The Ultimate Rice Cooker Cookbook" by Beth Hensperger and Julie Kaufman. It's very nice and recipes have an indicator to show if they work in the Fuzzy Logic type machine, the On/Off type machine, or both. One thing to note is that the book assumes that the Fuzzy Logic machines can't steam vegetables/meat but my 10 Cup Sanyo has a steaming basket and a Steam setting that is the same as the Quick Cook mode. Can't imagine why you couldn't just put a collapsible steaming basket in the Zoji and use it's Quick Cook setting as well.
Nico

Hi all...not sure if this is EXACTLY on topic...but for those of you with rice cookers and looking for other things to do with them besides steamed rice...or who are having trouble with cooking red rice, black rice, etc. in them...I picked up a very nice cookbook a few months ago called "The Ultimate Rice Cooker Cookbook" by Beth Hensperger and Julie Kaufman. It's very nice and recipes have an indicator to show if they work in the Fuzzy Logic type machine, the On/Off type machine, or both. One thing to note is that the book assumes that the Fuzzy Logic machines can't steam vegetables/meat but my 10 Cup Sanyo has a steaming basket and a Steam setting that is the same as the Quick Cook mode. Can't imagine why you couldn't just put a collapsible steaming basket in the Zoji and use it's Quick Cook setting as well.
Nico

I highly recommend the book as well (see my Post #7 on this thread). If you double-check the chapter on vegetables, you will indeed see that it discusses steaming -- and mentions the baskets -- at great length.

I tried out the Zojiroushi Rice Cooker yesterday for the first time, and it works great!!

Had hot cooked rice in less than 30 minutes! It's a quick efficient little unit. It can cook enough rice to feed up to six people! I love it!!

Glad you're happy with it. Is that 30 minutes the "quick" cycle, because my Panasonic, which is very similar to your cooker, has such a quick cycle, but the regular cycle for white rices is 50 minutes, which includes some soaking time. I always use the full-length cycle.

Some people really have a hard time prepping rice, but I have never had a problem. Whether it be boiled, pilaf, baked.. it always comes out perfectly. My sister, on the other hand, always over or undercooks it.

I can see the appeal, if you cook a lot of rice, though, since rice can take a lot of looking after.

Yes, there ARE some models of certain brands that look like exactly like mine. I wonder if one co. makes them for other co's.

Anyway, I thought the soaking time was for brown rice. That was the regular cooking cycle that I used for the white (parboiled) rice. Remember, that if you want to do short or long grain rice such as River or Carolina, use slightly less water to avoid rice that's too soft or gummy.

Thanks also, Stinemates!

These units help avoid over or undercooking by precisely computing the cooking time just right.

Also, the thing that I like most is that you'll never have to deal with scorched or burned rice again!!

I use mine a lot. I ordered it online from a place called koamart that I usually buy japanese food from. It wasn't expensive at all and it tends to cook the rice just a little bit too much but I add a little extra water to compensate. It takes around 20 minutes, that seems to be faster than the average here, maybe that explains it? I through some veggies in the steamer basket, I love it because I work at home, so by the time I take my dinner break my rice and veggies are done and I just need to reheat my canned eel : P